In a discussion on new product development last week on the Discussion Forum, a member was looking for a new product development worksheet—something that "gave the editorial and development teams a starting point for creating the product or service."

 

Stephanie Williford, CEO of EB Medicine, responded that they "developed something like that several years ago and have found it to be very helpful. We actually created a three-step process; step 1 is filling out an initial worksheet... If the idea passes that step, then it goes to the next one, which is a more detailed worksheet and business cases analysis."

 

From there, Ed Coburn, president of Cabot Wealth Network, made those forms generic and combined them into a single document for others who may want to use this. It's titled Product Development Process Template and now sits in the Sample and Model Documents section of our website. 

 

Take a look at these documents for your own use and to see what might be missing. Of course, event cancellations have been top of mind lately, so that is one area we are looking at. A random survey template might also be good. (Speaking of surveys, please read to the end—there is a link to a very important member survey that SIPA is conducting. Thank you.)

 

Our Sample and Model Documents have been provided by members as a guideline, but you should always check with an attorney to be sure of the language—especially as you get into cancellations.

 

Here are some highlights to this treasure trove of documents. Check back frequently—new documents are always being added.

 

1. Subscription Service and Site License Agreement
"Subscriber acknowledges that the Newsletter contains valuable intellectual property owned by, proprietary to, and copyrighted by Company. Subscriber agrees that it will not (electronically or otherwise) permit any copying or dissemination of any portion of the Newsletter except as permitted by this Agreement. Subscriber agrees that unauthorized copying or dissemination of the Newsletter will cause great harm to Company." We hear often about subscribers distributing a SIPA member newsletter to more people than is in their agreement. This form will help you get the right information in place to prevent this or be able to take action.

 

Given our current circumstances, audio conferences will only grow in the coming months. You'll also see further language to have the speaker assist with marketing the webinar. "[The speaker will] reasonably [assist] in Company's pre-audio conference marketing efforts, including participating in a short (approximately 5-10 minute) recorded interview concerning any upcoming audio conference in which Speaker will participate..."] Also advised is to have the speaker send out marketing information about the webinar to his or her list; if it is a popular speaker, this could be huge.

 

3. Conference Permission and Audio-Visual Request Form
"Set out below is a license, which we ask you to sign, permitting us to publish and record your presentation at the NAME OF CONFERENCE, CONFERENCE DATES at the xxxxxxxxx Hotel in City, State. We would like to make it clear that this permission is only a non-exclusive license and it does not transfer ownership of the copyright to us. Copyright remains with you (or your employer if you write the paper in the course of your employment), and you (or your employer) therefore remain free to publish, or to authorize others to publish on a nonexclusive basis, the presentation in any form, at any time and anywhere in the world."
 

4. Revenue Sharing Agreement
"Company B is granted the non-exclusive right to promote Company A products through any and all legal and reasonable means – including email, direct mail, Web-site store, conferences and events, advertising, telesales, etc., for as long as this agreement is in effect."

 

"Confidentiality. The Contractor agrees that all information supplied to the Contractor by Company shall be held in the strictest confidence to be used solely by Contractor in performing services for Company, and may not be used by Contractor for any other purpose whatsoever, except information that is in the public domain. In addition, except as necessary for any tax or other required filings, Contractor agrees not to disclose the rate paid by Company to the Contractor." Look for an updated version of this document to be posted shortly.

 

Again, here is the link for this great list of documents.